


Steve and Steve

by AudreyXuan



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fireworks, Fourth of July, Steve Trevor - Freeform, WWII, a long discussion about Ke$ha's party anthem masterpiece TiK ToK, a single swear, dad jokes, grandma love, ke$ha - Freeform, mentions of sexism/discrimination, wonder woman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 03:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11615070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudreyXuan/pseuds/AudreyXuan
Summary: It's the Fourth of July, which also means it's Steve 99th birthday. After digging through your grandma's attic, you've finally found the perfect gift. Warning for mentions of WWII and the sexism women faced during that time.





	Steve and Steve

Dust billowed around the room as you dug through the attic, clearing empty boxes out of the way and going through full ones. You smiled. If there was one thing your grandma was known for, it was collecting things--not stamps or coins, but any little thing she found, which you thought was much more endearing. Hand-painted beads, fine silver necklace chains, and bottle caps in different languages were all part of her collection, but there were two things you loved the most: an enlistment flyer depicting Captain America urging women to join the army, and a photograph of her in her nurse’s uniform, holding a book, standing next to the one and only Star Spangled Man with a Plan. 

You remember when she first showed you these keepsakes. You were only six years old, but it was then and there that you not only fell in love with Captain America, but made him your role model. There was no other mantra you lived by more consistently than “What would Captain America do?” Of course, you had had no idea that you actually end up dating the Captain.

The doorbell rung and you bounded down the stairs, throwing the door open. 

“(Y/N)!”

“Grandma!”

You leant down and gave her a hug, then pushed her wheelchair to the kitchen.

“Happy Fourth of July!” She exclaimed as you handed her a cup of tea. Your grandmother was one of the most stubborn people you had ever met, refusing to stop drinking her afternoon tea even on Independence Day. 

“And to you too! Grandma, I was going through the attic and you won’t believe what I found.” 

She laughed heartily. “Try me, dear. I collected some pretty bizarre trinkets through my years...and I’ve collected as many years as I have trinkets!”

“Yeah, but I don’t think anything could top this.” You carried over the box and put it on the table, handing her the flyer and the photograph. You watched as her eyes filled with melancholy, and you knew she was thinking about the war. 

“I’m sorry, grandma, I didn’t mean for you to…”

“Oh, nonsense,” she said, although she wiped away a tear when she thought you weren’t looking. “It’s Independence Day. I can’t be sad on Independence Day. I remember exactly when this photo was taken. Strangely enough, it was 75 years ago, to the day. Which means it was also your boyfriend’s birthday,” she said, winking. “Speaking of, what are you going to get him?”

No one else knew about your relationship with Steve, except for the other Avengers and your grandmother.

“I’m not sure, grandma. I really wanted to get him something special for his 99th birthday, believe me, but between work and school I don’t know where time went.”

“You’re in luck, dear, because I know just the thing.” She dug around the cardboard box, pulling out a paper bag and handing it to you. Cautiously, you reached inside. Three original first-print Wonder Woman comics.

“Grandma,” you breathed. “Where did you get these?”

“All of the women in the army would get them in their welcome package, along with their uniform. It meant a great deal more than you can imagine, being able to read about a woman, even a fictional one, kicking Nazi ass just as well, if not better, than the men.”

“Grandma!”

“What? It’s true. And being a female officer at the time was quite a challenge. If you weren’t avoiding shellfire while trying to clean a gunshot wound, you were being catcalled by your fellow soldiers.” She picked up the photograph again and pointed out the books tucked under her arm. “Those are the comics I was carrying. I remember them well because as we waited for the photographer to get ready, Captain America and I talked about how much we loved Wonder Woman. Just as the photo was taken he told me how I was prettier than the Amazon herself.” 

The young woman in the photo wore a huge smile, and despite the fact that it was in black and white, you could tell she was blushing. 

“Now go give these to your boyfriend,” she said, handing you the paper bag and the photograph. As you left the house, you heard her calling “And give him a kiss from me!”

. . .

It was a bit of squeeze, between visiting your grandma, packing a bag at the DC apartment you shared with Steve, and catching a flight to New York, but you managed anyway. As a journalist, you had mastered the art of multitasking, especially on a deadline. 

Your flight landed at LaGuardia just after five, leaving you enough time to get to Avengers Tower before dinner. Tony had planned a joint Cap’s birthday/Fourth of July celebration, and knowing how insane Tony’s parties could get, you didn’t want to miss a minute of it. 

As your Uber pulled up to the airport, you fired off a quick text to Steve letting him know you had landed safely. You reached down to put your phone away in your backpack and felt the brown paper bag. Phew. Still intact. You were no comic collector, but first-edition Wonder Womans had to be worth at least a few thousand.

You approached Avengers Tower and tipped the driver extra, wishing him a happy Fourth of July. A tall figure in a white suit came into view, walking briskly down the hall.

“Thanks, Ms. Potts,” you said as she unlocked the door

“Please, (Y/N), call me Pepper. It's after five, so I'm officially off office hours.” She reached up and pulled her strawberry blonde hair out of its perfect chignon, shaking it out and letting it fall stylishly across her shoulders.

“Ooh, this pepper is getting spicy!” You exclaimed, high-fiving her. 

The two of you rode the glass elevator up to the penthouse. Below you could already see miniature bursts of colour as people set off backyard, or rather rooftop, fireworks. Tony Stark was probably the only person in New York City who could afford a backyard big enough.

The doors opened and you saw Tony, Natasha, and the rest of the Avengers hanging decorations and preparing food and drinks. Vision hung streamers on every possible surface. Wanda, Nat, and Bruce mixed drinks while Bucky grilled hamburgers. Tony hooked up his surround sound system to his laptop as Thor stared, bewildered, at the screen, trying to figure out who Spotify was and how she could hold thousands of songs in this thin rectangle. Scott, Clint, and Sam dug through a box of disguises for the photo booth. And Steve--wait, where was Steve?

“Happy Fourth of July, babe,” Steve whispered, popping up behind you and nearly giving you a heart attack.

“Jesus Christ!” You said, lightly punching him on the arm.

“Nope, just Captain America. Sorry to disappoint.” You rolled your eyes at his stupid joke.

“How did I end up with someone as silly as you? You’re supposed to be some gallant, suave, heroic national icon, not a dad joke generator.”

“Yeah, Steve! Don’t be ridiculous. This is no time for your antics,” Sam said, bedecked in a stars-and-stripes top hat and a fake white beard. 

“Very mature, Uncle Sam,” Steve said.

“I was worried you guys were gonna start the party without me,” you said to Steve.

“In the words of the immortal Ke$ha, I believe, ‘The party don’t start til you walk in’.”

“Wow. Really brushing up on your current top 40 hits, are you?”

“Shut up. That song is what, two years old?”

“I think about five,” you replied.

“Seven,” you heard Pepper call from the kitchen.

“No, four,” Tony added. 

“Seven.”

“Trust me, four.”

“Seven!”

 

“JARVIS, when was Ke$ha’s Tik Tok released?” Tony asked, exasperated

“Tik Tok, off Ke$ha’s debut album, was released in 2010, sir.”

Tony turned back to Pepper with a knowing look. “Told you.” Pepper rolled her eyes at him and Tony stuck out his tongue in response.

“Look, babe, it’s you and me in five years.”

“Don’t count on it. I don’t think I can put up with your dad jokes and outdated references for that long.”

. . .

It wasn’t even midnight and you were already exhausted. All of the travel, mixed with an unhealthy dose of alcohol, had you nearly dozing off.

“Sleeping Beauty need a wittle naptime?” 

“Shut your face, Bucky. I travelled 400 kilometers today. What did you do? Besides make out with Steve?”

The Winter Soldier blushed and turned away, refusing to make eye contact for the rest of the night.

“You coming to see the fireworks, sweetheart?” Steve asked, nudging you off his shoulder.

You looked and smiled at him. “Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

The two of you joined the rest of the party out on Tony’s sprawling balcony, where a box of fireworks and a bucket of sand lay. 

“So I made fireworks for each one of you. We'll set off the normal ones and then you can each come up and light yours,” Tony said, standing in front of the crowd.

“Did he just say ‘made fireworks’?” You whispered to Pepper.

“I tried as hard as I could, (Y/N). He finally said that I was right, it was too dangerous, and he was going to do some paperwork. It wasn't until I heard the explosion in the basement that I realised, but he had locked me out of the lab. I tried, (Y/N), I really did.” You nodded sympathetically. Once Tony had set his mind in something, there was no changing it.

Tony set off fireworks and Steve sat down beside you, pulling your fleece blanket off of you and wrapping it around himself.

“Hey, if you keep acting like a jerk you won't get your present.”

“You have presents?” He asked, eyes wide.

“Of course! It's your birthday, and you're the one and only Star--”

“Don't you fucking dare.”

“Language! Golly-gosh, you have a potty mouth.” You reached into your purse and pulled out the paper bag, handing it to him. Tentatively, he reached in and pulled out the three comics, well-thumbed through but still in mint condition. 

“Don't tell me these are…” his voice trailed off as his crystal blue eyes met yours. You nodded, and he stated at the comics incredulously. “How?”

“My grandmother,” you said, showing him the picture. “She was a nurse in the 250th Station Hospital Nurses. She says she you told her--”

“That she was prettier than Diana,” Steve interrupted, a sad smile on his face. “I remember her, (Y/N). Is she still…?”

“Yeah, I visited her this morning,” you said. You were grinning, but you hadn't realised that tears were slipping down your cheek. “So, you were a Wonder Woman fan?”

“Always was, always will be. She was my first fictional crush. Everytime she called out for Steve, I imagined she was calling my name.”

“If my subtraction is right, weren't you 24 years old?”

“I saved the world, like, seven times, so you have no right to make fun of me.”

You took a couple rocket pops from the box Clint was passing around and handed one to your boyfriend “Sure, Capsicle. Does that mean I should be jealous of Wonder Woman?”

“Of course not! But, if you ever wanted to wear a golden tiara, I would be totally down for that.”

“‘Totally down’? Catching on fast with the lingo.” 

“Hey, (Y/N)?”

“Yeah?”

“I just want to say thank you for the gift. It was a difficult time, and I'm sorry if I ever seem closed off about it. Especially after what happened with Bucky...I wanted to seal that part of my life away for a very, very long time. But I realised that back then, like now, there were little glimmers of good. I might've met her for three minutes, but that's all I needed to know that your grandmother was one of those bright spots. Can you do something for me, (Y/N)?”

“Of course, love.”

“Go visit your grandma and give her a kiss from me.”

“I will, Steve, I will.” You hugged him tightly and he wiped away a fresh tear. “Can I have a kiss from you too, Mister America?”

“I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be a captain in there.”

You watched as each person set off their themed fireworks, one by one. Finally, it was Steve's turn and you could see his sad smile, still melancholy, bathed in pale moonlight and etched in memories. blue, white, and red embers sparkled in the sky.

He kissed you as the last of the fireworks went off, little sparks in your country's colours exploding above your head. He pulled away and looked at you, the red, white, and blue embers reflected on your faces.

“You're more beautiful than Diana herself.”

“You're more handsome than Steve Trevor.”

“Hey, when this thing ends, can we go see Wonder Woman?”

“We'll see,” you said, but then Steve offered his hand to dance under the fireworks, and you knew the answer would be yes.


End file.
